Over 20 years ago we were asked to restore the Sunrise window at Woodlawn Memorial Cemetery and Mausoleum in Santa Monica. The window had lost most of its glazing, and was severely bowing. We removed the window to our studio, releaded it and added proper reinforcing bars to support it. Since that time we have been regularly working at the Cemetery, repairing and restoring their magnificent windows.
A few months back I stopped off at the Cemetery to say hi and ask if any of the windows needed our attention. I was asked to inspect the windows and give an evaluation. They were interested in adding protective glazing on the outside of the Sunrise window, and replacing many of the previously installed protective acrylic that had severely hazed over. These acrylic panels had been installed before we started working at the Cemetery. I worked up a proposal and they gave me a call a few months later. The scope of work at this time was to remove the exterior tempered glass from another window(Tree Window), and clean the gnat nests and spider webs. They also asked us to reputty and clean the Sunrise window and add protective tempered glass on the exterior. The preferred product for protective covering of stained glass windows is tempered glass rather than acrylic.
An interesting fact we discovered is that the decaying bodies in the mausoleum create a smell that attract gnats, and corpse flies. The gnats built nests between the stained glass window and the exterior glazing. As it turned out cleaning the gnat nests, and the spider webs was easy once we removed the sections of tempered glass. The spiders set up their nest outside the gnats nests to catch their prey. Aside from some minor stains in the exterior glass they looked as good at when they were installed.
Tree Window Before Cleaning
Tree Window After Cleaning
After we reputtied the interior and exterior of the Sunrise window everyone was shocked at how much more light came in and how translucent the glass really was. For the first time since any of the employees could remember you could see the trees and bushes on the outside. They often use the area just inside the Sunrise window for services, so they were very happy with the "new" look. On the exterior we added aluminum extrusions on two sides and sealed the 1/4" tempered glass. The window itself is made with hand blown German antique glass, and glass Dales pieces cut in small cubes.
Now we are waiting for the new fiscal year to complete the remainder of the windows.
Adamm's Stained Glass is an art glass studio in Santa Monica, CA
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